Straight answers to what parents ask us most.
- What does it cost, and what about siblings?
Robotics and Game Development are from £110 a month + £40 registration fee. The specialist pathways are from £125 a month + £40 registration fee. With two places in the family, each is from £99 a month + £40 registration fee for each child, or from £112.50 a month + £40 registration fee for each child on a specialist pathway. With three or more, each is from £93.50 a month + £40 registration fee for each child, or from £106.25 a month + £40 registration fee for each child on a specialist pathway. Our Ofsted-registered centres accept Tax-Free Childcare, and at those centres families can claim up to 85% of childcare costs back through their Universal Credit childcare account. Eligibility depends on your circumstances, and you claim it back yourself. The Free Tech Assessment itself costs nothing. See every subject and childcare funding .
- What happens at a Free Tech Assessment?
Your child builds and codes a first project with a Mentor, in a Studio Lab. The Mentor sees what they enjoy and how they think, and suggests the pathway and class that suit them. You leave with a plan: the subject, the class times, and the full price with the registration fee included. It is free, and there is no obligation to enrol.
- Is this in person, or is it online too?
Every Robocode Studio Lab is fully in person, never online. Robotics is roughly 80% hands-on, and even our coding subjects run at real workstations with a Mentor in the room. We don't believe young learners progress on a screen alone. The easiest way to see a Studio Lab is a Free Tech Assessment .
- It's not just more screen time, is it?
Robotics is roughly 80% hands-on: wiring, building, mechanics. Coding, AI and game development sit at workstations but a Mentor is alongside the Studio Lab the whole time. Your child leaves having made something, not consumed something. Come and watch at a Free Tech Assessment , or read our guide to screen time .
- My child is autistic or has SEND. Will they be okay here?
Several of our SEND families say the single biggest difference is having the same Mentor every week, in small groups of 4 to 8, in a calm, camera-covered Studio Lab. Every Mentor is enhanced-DBS checked and SEND-trained. Many SEND families first find us through our holiday camps, or start with a Free Tech Assessment , which is a calm first visit with no commitment. Our SEND page explains the route in.
- Are the qualifications really GCSE-equivalent?
Yes. The BCS Level 1 Robotics Award and BCS Level 2 Thinking as a Coder are both GCSE-equivalent on the Ofqual register. We also run the full AQA GCSE Computer Science at our JCQ-registered exam centre . A 10 year old has sat it with us, an 11 year old achieved a grade 7, and more than 30 Robocoders have now taken the exam. Ask the Mentor about the exam route at your Free Tech Assessment .
- My child can't decide between robotics and game development.
Start with whichever they're holding when they walk into the Tech Assessment . The coding fundamentals carry across robotics, game development, AI and web. Switching pathways later is straightforward when the new class has a place free, so nothing is wasted.
- What if we miss a session?
If your child misses a session, we may offer one make-up session if there's space. We can't promise one, and missed sessions are not refunded. You can also pause your place with one month's notice and pick it back up later.
- What if we're going away or want to start in September?
Whether a class runs in August is decided class by class. For a September start you can sit the Tech Assessment now and we'll put your child's name on the waiting list, with priority for your chosen month.
- Can I hold a place without paying?
Places aren't held without a subscription, because weekend places fill quickly. What we can do: a Tech Assessment puts your child's name on the waiting list, with priority for your chosen start month.
We're happy to help.